In the modern education system, the primary goal is not only to impart knowledge to students but also to comprehensively develop their life skills. This article examines the historical evolution of constructs for assessing students' oral speech skills, from the 19th century to the present day. It highlights the initial focus on external aspects of speech (fluency, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, and intonation) in Prussian and English education systems, transitioning to content-oriented criteria in the early 20th century, and later incorporating communicative approaches with linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic competencies. Particular attention is paid to holistic and analytic assessment methods, their advantages, and limitations, supported by research findings. The article also references international language proficiency assessment systems and high-performing countries in PISA assessments that emphasize creative oral tasks.

Oral speech assessment, constructs, holistic assessment

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